December 3, 2006
The Abuse of Power
WCBS-TV in New York has a feature story about Isaac Heschel, a New York diamond dealer who had emergency lights and sirens installed in his car. The story exposes his abuse of power, using his flashers and sirens to make his way quickly through rush hour traffic, for no apparent reason other than because he can.
On the one hand, this guy is obviously a ne'er do well, and it's good they caught him and hopefully put a stop to his abusive and dangerous behavior. On the other hand, I thought the article was a bit condescending. I suppose it's not unwarranted to expect that outwardly religious individuals would adhere to a higher moral standard than your average Joe, but the fact that this guy is referred to as "Rabbi" and subtitle the article as "Too Good for Gridlock" is a bit sensational.
On a related note, there was a recent incident where a Hatzaloh member was pulled over by NYPD while responding to a call. There was a post on Vos Iz Neias, along with a discussion in the comments (the site seems to have disappeared, so I can't link to it) where a few of the regulars got indignant and ended up getting into it with an NYPD officer who defended the actions of the NYPD.
More blogs posting on this topic.
[Hat tip: the inimitable RDE]
